


The Arbiters Will Hate This

by SuperFandoms



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: "woah fuck its too late to change Nibelheim that sucks", Amnesia, Gen, Hallucinations, Isekai, Nonbinary Character, Outside of the summary the SI's name isn't used, Possession, Self-Insert, Tag As I Go, also they've got Seph's brain so that lends itself to less empathy, but still making things objectively better, covering my bases here, literally just going, the protag is scrombled from being in the lifestream and having two sets of incomplete memories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29172957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperFandoms/pseuds/SuperFandoms
Summary: The Lifestream would be beautiful, were they not drifting apart like a soggy cookie. That metaphor, even above the situation, should confirm: Rosemary isn't supposed to be here.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

Someone floats in a strange, bright abyss. Bright teal, roiling waves, and ethereal. If they weren't losing bits of themselves, it would be lovely!

They'll freak out over falling apart once they're _not doing so._ They observe a dim flake reflecting something familiar but distant, and grab it. The reflection is of a smaller body than theirs currently is watching something on a small screen barely larger than their hand. ... _Oh._ That's a memory. 

Now might be a good time to panic! They grab any and all flakes surrounding them, holding it all close. It's a continuous action that lasts for what feels like days. The flakes drift off slower now, always slow enough to catch if it rests alone. With a pile of their memories held in their lap, they finally drop any pretense of stoicism and cry.

Their perception of time isn't great, so they don't know how long the panic attack went. Maybe an hour. Ok, ok. Gotta look through the memories, maybe they knew what was going on before losing everything?I

Holding up the first memory, they blanch. That's a video game character. They're not entirely sure whom or where from, but if that's a memory, it's one of interacting _with_ that character. 

Panic attack later, they just had one! Each memory they view dissipates into mist, and they can recall everything from it. Convenient! Though, that's probably how memories are supposed to go. Many memories are of a mundane life mostly lived in two houses, but a larger chunk are of the video game. The name called in the mundane life towards them is fuzzy and obviously hated, so they suppose that's not it, but they can't find any other moniker from there? 

If the video game memories are theirs, than their name in that lifetime is theirs to claim. Searching through them yields a result three in, towards the name 'Sephiroth'. 

_Well then!_ That's unsettling. The mundane memories know that name from some hyperfixation, he's- oh maybe that's odd now -the worst person to be! At least now they know where they are, the Lifestream. This bodes _incredibly_ poorly, JENOVA has to be around somewhere. That can wait a bit though, they still need to know which death this is.

It takes a while to shuffle through every remaining memory, and things are still patchy. However, this should be the first time they've died, shortly after the Nibelheim incident. So Cloud will know them, and be terrified. They're more than a bit annoyed to have been killed by him, but understand that it was a good choice at the time. At any rate, there's a connection there to exploit, Cloud has their cells. They can move their consciousness to him, and avoid dissapation!

Alright, maybe they can trick their mind into thinking that Cloud is their body, that they need to be _there._ They focus, they _know_ that Cloud will give in to their wish. Everything slows down around them, and then they've left the Lifestream, and are seeing out of Cloud's eyes. He's at a mako reactor?

Oh, they know this one. He's going to blow it up with Avalanche, they think. Good enough for them, at least they're not dying anymore. True to form, the reactor blows with little issue, and Cloud is walking through Sector 7. A building collapses and flames laugh through the windows. Sephiroth would frown if they could, this is familiar.

Ah. Cloud is staring blankly into the flames, the image wavering into something they assume to be Nibelheim. Warring memories lead to a vague apathy about burning it down, there's no way to undo that now. The image breaks and shifts to reality again. Cloud sighs in relief- _hold up, they can influence his perception._ Technically they could possess him outright, but not for long by the looks of things, and that wouldn't help anyways.

Carefully, they craft a spectre of their current appearance. This is odd, they can see through the apparition's eyes. Cloud nearly bumps into it, then looks into their face. It's like looking at an incredibly lifelike puppet. Cloud moves as if to draw the Buster Sword, but gazes at the impassive, mildly smug illusion with such confusion at its inaction that he hesitates. A building collapses, and Sephiroth tries to make sure the illusion reacts properly. That is, its hair sways. Pff.

Cloud ducks his head to avoid the ashes. Ah, they can set the illusion to walking without having to worry about how to make it start! Good. They lead Cloud to a quiet corner, unfortunately appearing to be on fire, so that they can talk.

"You're not real... You're... dead!" Ah, a human voice. That'll make their isolation even worse when it's not directed at them later.

...they've taken too long to reply, and lift the puppet's eyebrow. Maybe calling it a puppet isn't tactful? Ugh.

"I killed you with my own-" Cloud cuts off his sentence with a gasp. 

Alright, they're speaking with an acquaintance. About their death. "I need little reminding, it was quite a spectacular display." Not direct enough. They need to warn him. "But that was then, and this is now. I have a favor to ask."

Maybe too friendly. They aren't sure, their speech patterns are absurdly mingled. Perhaps if they stayed closer to the set of memories from Sephiroth's lifetime? It _is_ objectively more real a set than that of a human from another world. Still, they have inherited some stability from that life, and are thus grateful to both.

"Our once-loved planet is dying. Slowly, silently, painfully. Will you be complicit in its torture," They pause, relishing the moment, " _Cloud._ " No, no! That's the wrong course. They have to change tracks.

Even as Cloud sees his childhood home go up in smoke, Sephiroth tries again. "You have the lifeblood of Mother in you." ...JENOVA must be influencing them. They don't wish to respect her, not- it's hard to think. "She will try to keep you, use you. Resist." Cloud's vision snaps back to their illusion. "She would rip you from this land, and use both you and it to travel again." Cloud draws in jagged breaths. "This is why I must ask this of you. Don't fret, it will only benefit you. Run, Cloud. Run away! You have to support those whom will end Her."

Irrationally, Cloud takes this poorly, shouting, "You bastard!" and leaping to attack them. Sephiroth dismisses the illusion, taking an intangible breath.

"Good. Protect yourself from my kin. Above all, avoid Reunion."

Cloud sheathes his sword. "I'm seeing things. Fumes from all the mako, maybe." Sephiroth would glare if they had eyes. That was going alright, for an interaction between themself and someone who wanted to kill them. Well, there will be more opportunities to warn him, to help him.


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud ran into Aerith! This should set some events to rolling, Sephiroth believes. Though Cloud seems a bit unnerved for some reason- well, that would be why. A false image of Sephiroth with a hand on Aerith's shoulder. This is unfortunate, conflicting sources will lower their credibility absurdly.

They regret what their past self did, if only because it makes their current ploy that much harder. This isn't quite a flashback, though, noting happened to cause it. Yes, Aerith will be killed by them eventually, yet there should be no way for Cloud to know? Perhaps JENOVA is laying claim. Sephiroth's anger roils. Cloud is not _Hers_ to command.

Sephiroth halts their train of thought. Have they been acting the same way? Most likely, given their anger being so... Fleeting. They sigh. Why would they treat a sapient as a tool? It's more than slightly worrying, though they have conflicting views on the matter. On one hand, Cloud killed them and they intend to be repaid for that. On the other hand, Cloud is inconsequentially fictional but nevertheless favoured.

Cloud is their anchor to reality. Without him, they'd still be in the Lifestream, gradually dying via loss of self. Despite themself, they laugh as an idea hits them. If they're formed of memories, then supporting memories can help connect their traits into a unified personality. Cloud will have memories of them.

Rifling through the man's brain is a depressing experience, massive chunks of his memory missing as well. There's enough of the famed 'Silver General' that a few missing won't draw concern. Easy. Sephiroth plucks memories of them a a calm and well-spoken being, appearing conversationally flawless.

Mm. A further inconvenience in the form of Arbiters arrive. Whispers, Sephiroth supposes, but they've never quite liked that title. The ghostly lot is swimming in the air around Aerith, causing her to panic. They don't know _why,_ these Arbiters can be destroyed with ease! Though perhaps that is their inherited invulerability to fate.

Shinra troops, five of them, swarm Cloud. Aerith flees, leaving Cloud to dispatch them. Admittedly, he does so with ease, and _yet._ They sigh, a now-common habbit. They suppose they can integrate their memories as Cloud frolics about the slums.

Said integration is something of a slow process, but that is only so for the duration it takes them to understand how. In the end, all they need to do is view the memory and, for lack of a better descriptor, peel it away. Then they can view it just like any memory from the Lifestream. They're left feeling mentally organized and a bit stiff, but certainly not as unstable. This is an improvement. Cloud has plenty of memories from that time, a few less will be fine. Sephiroth needs to be whole.

They push that line of thought away, figuring it complete. Finally paying attention to the goings-on through Cloud's eyes, they see him dramatically swing into a train car, where a small group of Avalanche members rest. The lot of them are going to be incredibly inconspicuous. Then they start walking through the train. This can't possibly go well.


	3. Chapter 3

As Cloud enters the train car, Barret flusters his way into sounding annoyed. He's kinder than he wants to let on. Sephiroth knows he has a child. The rest of Avalanche seems glad to see him safe as well.

"Wait." Oh? What's this? "Got a question for you all."

"What?" Barret prompts.

"You ever been attacked by an invisible enemy?" The group seems confused, even as Cloud elaborates. "Wearing robes. Came and went like the wind."

Biggs scoffs. "Thought they were invisible."

Cloud takes this in stride. "They were- at first. Only saw them after she grabbed me."

"A new Shinra weapon, maybe?" Another comments. Not at all, but Fate itself is hardly a common suspect.

"Hah, more like a panic-induced hallucination."

Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say. Cloud clams up then.

Progressing up the train, Cloud shuts down any attempt at socialization. That won't do, he needs to have allies. Barret will want to have Cloud by his side, and Sephiroth knows that Aerith and Tifa will stay with him, but Cloud needs to forge these connections himself. The more variables, the better. The more strain Fate is under, the better Sephiroth can defy it.

Jessie (Sephiroth thinks it's her, they aren't certain) beckons Cloud over. Somehow, he plays along.

"I can't stop thinking about it. That bomb I made shouldn't have produced an explosion that big." Is she talking about this in a _crowd?_ "It doesn't make any sense!"

"The explosion triggered a reaction within the mako. You said so yourself." 

Jessie continues to blame herself anyways, briefly considering the Arbiters as the reason before denying that possibility. Ironically, they likely are why the reactor was so volatile. 

The next car down, Barret is terrorizing a handful of Shinra employees. He can do as he likes, lessening the strain on the Lifestream will never be a bad thing.

More useless banter later, the train finally comes to a halt. Avalanche disembarks and heads towards Seventh Heaven. Cloud, for some reason, stops and listens to a civilian ramble about his dislike of Avalanche. Cloud follows his gesture up towards the steel above, and for a brief moment everything flashes in an explosion.

Panicky, Cloud braces for the beam to hit him. Instead, seconds later, the civilian asks if he's alright, Arbiters rising around him. They turn and follow Avalanche, Cloud trailing them.

Finally at the bar, Barret and Marlene promptly begin chattering away. It's endearing, as much so as Barret ever is. Tifa marks the first to point out the flower Cloud obtained from Aerith, and Cloud, seeming embarassed, hands it to her.

Cloud somehow manages to scare Marlene merely by existing, Barret shoving Cloud in retaliation. Schoolchildren, the lot of them.

"So, what can I get you?" Tifa deflects as Barret carries Marlene out.

"My money. I'm still waiting on it." Blunt as ever.

Tifa brings Cloud outside. "Before we get to money, there's an empty apartment just down the road. It's nothing fancy, but I was thinking you could stay there for now. The landlady's a big friend of the cause, so you won't even have to pay rent!" Sephiroth would take that offer in a heartbeat, if he were in Cloud's situation. "Sound good?" Yes. Yes it does.

"Sure does, thanks."

By some miracle, Tifa manages to work a conversation out of Cloud while the pair walks to the apartment building. Tifa is apparently next door to Cloud, but claims exhaustion when probed about the other room on the floor.

Inside, Tifa continues her string of disappointments by claiming that Avalanche can only pay a quarter of their promised amount at the moment. She then maneuvers Cloud into helping her collect money from... Water filters? Sephiroth is mildly disgusted.

Tifa leaves, and Cloud settles in to rest.

* * *

Cloud wakes up to a clunk, dragging Sephiroth into consciousness as well. Shame, they were enjoying that nap. Cloud sheathes the Buster Sword- well, he holsters it. A faint mumbling drifts through the walls, and they manage to make out the second word.

"Reunion..."

 _No._ What spawn has Hojo forged this time? Which human has had their life ended now? Sephiroth doesn't care. That's a vessel. That body is just as much theirs as _Cloud_ is. Briefly, they reprimand the possessiveness.

Moving in much the same manner as they did to reach Cloud, Sephiroth transfers themself to this new JENOVA-spawn. They get a moment to search through his mind, not nearly enough, before Cloud is outside the door. This is an opportunity.

"Coming in." Good.

Cautiously, barely in the threshold, Cloud scans the room, eventually landing eyes on Sephiroth's current body. He seems to know it's them, that's fascinating. This is, of course, manifested by the drawing of the Buster Sword. It collides with the doorframe, and there's a part of Sephiroth amused at the proper functioning of physics. If Cloud weren't mako-enhanced, he would've broken a wrist.

But there's no time for that. Cloud's drawn the sword properly, so they have to get in close before this becomes a fight. Walking forward works fine, Cloud seems paralyzed with fear anyways. They tackle him to the ground. Sephiroth draws a deep breath as Cloud struggles, but is thrown off before they can say anything.

"Cloud, stop!" _Tifa._

There's no hope of doing this anymore. They send most of their conscious back to Cloud, keeping a portion in 'Marco' for surveillance and memory scouring.

Tifa's ramblings are ignored in favor of the blocky '49' across Marco's shoulder. One of many, then. Hojo always did make backups, and by what they're finding in this clone's head? They'll have a great many more chances with a physical body.

* * *

The day proper is incredibly dull. Cloud is in obvious physical pain at all hours, given the small noises he makes with any major movements, especially after sitting still too long. Sephiroth remembers a similar ailment in their otherworldly memories. Tifa still drags him out as a salesman. Perhaps she and the kindlier Avalanche could pull it off, but a SOLDIER? No.

Three replacements go by with nothing but minor complaints, then Tifa is getting Cloud to do _more_ menial work. Is he able to tell her no? This neighborhood watch sounds worthless. Reputation is not good pay.

Admittedly, once they get there, Wedge is amusing company. Biggs, however, lays his hands on the Buster Sword. Changes it. Sephiroth can't explain their anger at this, they just know that it was not meant to be altered.

Even running off to fight mutated monsters, Tifa wedges herself into Cloud's company. There's no escaping this woman. Infuriatingly, Cloud seems to actually enjoy her presence, even with the constant banter she fogs the air with. They can't even enjoy watching a battle, with her constant yelps as something latches onto her. And ahe _still_ takes partial credit once back with Wedge. And Biggs, they suppose.

Mmn. Biggs brings up his modifications to the Buster. Cloud claims their use, and that he's been through a lot with it. Sephiroth frowns, even as Cloud suffers a migrane. Has he? It's only somewhat recently fallen into his possession. No, Cloud hasn't been through much with it yet. Maybe this relates to those altered memories.

After Cloud, rather amusingly, attempts to herd cats, he returns to Seventh Heaven. Outside of the bar, a crowd is gathered.

"Stay away from me!" A childish voice yelps. It's unfortunately familiar. Indeed, as the boy tumbles out of his(?) house, Sephiroth recognizes him as one of those whom had purchased a water filter.

Shinra cadets, not yet SOLDIERS, follow the boy. They toss him to the ground, blindfold him, and lead him off.

Tifa gossips about what just happened, and then coerces Cloud into _yet another chore._ If nothing else, this one bears doing. The boy apparently talks, and may know of Avalanche.

The guards are easily dispatched, most left bleeding out. Cloud then attempts to execute the boy. It's an interesting view, and given how the boy seems to have no true value except as a flow of gil, Sephiroth approves. Tifa, however, doesn't. She also seems to believe that the cadets are going to wake up.

Johnny is threatened to leave town. Tifa and Cloud head back to their appartments, and Sephiroth stops paying attention. This day has been mundane. Perhaps he'll observe 49 for a time.

49 is more susceptible to possession this time. Perhaps it's due to a portion of Sephiroth's own conscious merging with his? Who can say. They want to sleep, now, so sleep they will. 49 won't be doing anything this afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shrug* imagine having an update schedule couldnt be me  
> I'm going to try for once-weekly or twice-monthly, though.

Jessie and Cloud arrive at the train station, finding it empty. Before either has a chance to grumble or muse over this, Biggs appears.

"Tough break. The last train's already left, it's why we borrowed these bikes!" He cheerfully says, the second of his 'we' being Wedge. Sephiroth wonders if Wedge will obtain agency at any time. "Need a lift to the plate?" So that's where they're going? Hm.

"How did you guess?" The answer to this should provide further information over the goings-on. 

Wedge pipes up joyfully, "Easy! You've been acting weird. Like, talking about one thing when you're obviously thinkin' about something else." Well that was... Unhelpful.

"Yeah, and don't get me started on all that pep!" Biggs chips in.

"Alright, I'll give you that. But how did you know I wanted to go topside? Was I talking in my sleep? What else did I say?" Ha.

Wedge reassures her. "No! We just figured you wanted to see your parents, that's all!" Oh! Sephiroth can't relate, but sympathises to some degree regardless.

"Nailed it, huh?" Biggs gloats, giving a thumbs-up. The pontificating continues for a short while, when Jessie asks Cloud if his parents are still around. Sephiroth waits, hoping Cloud will hallucinate just enough for his perceptions to be accessible, but nothing happens.

Cloud mounts a motorcycle, Jessie clambering on after him. Wedge and Biggs share the other, and the group sets off.

"Look, I'm not going plateside for the reason they think I am," Jessie confides. "You saw the way the reactor went up? It was huge, right?" Guilt, then? She seems to host a great deal of it. 

"Because of all the mako, isn't that what you said?"

"Yeah, that was wishful thinking. Deep down, I know it was my fault." Sephiroth wishes they could see Jessie, to better guage her emotions. She doesn't ever seem to emote anything other than happiness or neutrality, they're curious now. "I used a more powerful blasting agent than the instructions called for." ...Instructions. "It had nothing to do with the mako."

The motorcycles become louder in a transition to a harsher surface, and Cloud raises his voice in reply. "Let's say you're right. So what?"

Jessie explains her plan to steal a weaker explosive from Shinra. Sephiroth doesn't doubt the success of this plan, Shinra is feeble these days. 

Eventually, their IDs must be seen as fakes, as Shinra military closes in. Cloud manages to swing the Buster without its momentum knocking his motorcycle over. This is perhaps the one thing that they've been impressed by today.

Word comes that a SOLDIER is approaching. The group breaches the surface without much incident, however their luck ends as an overzealous Second careens in. His hair reminds Sephiroth of a character their mundane self liked.

"Who's that?" Jessie asks Cloud.

"A SOLDIER." Very helpful, Cloud. Your statements abound with useful knowledge.

The Second is obviously enjoying the presence of someone whom can keep pace with him, and he introduces himself as Roche before launching an attack. A bit childish, but Sephiroth's initial impression is somewhat positive. SOLDIER always will be Shinra's saving grace.

Jessie, tired of sitting backseat as Cloud and Roche fight and banter, shoots Roche. Somehow, no one expected this. They think that Cloud has finished for today as well, proven correct when he leaps of the motorcycle and slices Roche's own vehicle down the front. Roche retreats, with an invitation to a duel that sounds suspiciously like flirting.

Reaching Jessie's home goes smoothly. From what Sephiroth can gather, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge are going to enjoy eating something while Cloud... Hides? More theft, then. At least Wedge expresses sympathies over Cloud not getting fed.

"Once the lights come on, it's go time." Cloud informs an uninterested cat. The cat stares blankly.

The theft goes as smoothly as it can. Stealing the ID of what appears to be a comatose man. Unsurprisingly, Cloud has his reservations, but follows through regardless. More surprising is Sephiroth's own dislike of being in the same room as someone this sick. They have uncomfortable memories of believing that they should feel grief, but _don't._

Perhaps they should lend more credence to the mundane life of theirs being just as real as this one. It was their default in the Lifestream, after all. Only now, in a more solid portion of reality, do they think of themself as primarily Sephiroth. Even that is something of a lie, their personalities have blended to one.

They brush their musings aside discontentedly. They'll deal with that at a better time.

No one is guarding the warehouses or the Annex when Cloud arrives. When the flare goes off, for a moment Sephiroth wonders what can be done in an empty plaza, then the guards pour in. Only a few at a time, but it's a steady stream. They wonder if Shinra's tactics are exclusively to throw numbers at a problem. Considering how they are with money, likely so.

A group of guards surround Cloud, and Wedge, whom had descended earlier as a distraction. They tell the pair to surrender, when a noise resembling manic laughter crashes into the plaza, along with a motorcycle. And Roche!

"Well aren't we having a wonderful time, kicking the hornets' nest?" Roche cheerfully asks, spinning around Cloud and dispersing the guards to a further distance. Biggs drops down. As Roche dismounts his vehicle, he runs his fingers over it in affection. "You know what I want. A second dance. Just the two of us." Oh?

"You turned the key," Roche purrs. "The engine roars with excitement, it hungers to be set free!" Are these euphemisms or puns? Sephiroth would smile if they could. They settle for making 49 smile instead.

The fight is incredibly amusing, Roche keeps making puns! Eventually, though, Cloud cuts him down with a Limit Break.

"Satisfied?"

Roche chuckles. "With such fleeting pleasure? Hardly. There are higher heights to which you and I can still soar." Sephiroth still doesn't know if Roche is flirting. When they get a body of their own, they'll get someone to ask.

Shinra unleashes a handful of mechs to attack, but Roche incapacitates those too. Sephiroth is convinced that he's insane.

Returning to the slums is technically without incident. Parachuting down from the plate is more of an incident than one may think, and simultaneously less.

"Wait! Gimme a minute!" Wedge begs Cloud, whom is preparing to jump.

"No." Pfft.

Decending is a smooth process. Wedge may be picking up Jessie's guilt complex, though Cloud reassures him. They pass by Biggs and Jessie's houses on the way to Wedge's, but neither are back yet.

Cloud returns to his 'apartment'. Tifa visits him, though, so Sephiroth focuses more on 49. They'll have him search for more vessels. They're not truly clones, _Hojo_ wouldn't know a clone if it killed him.

They can feel Cloud go to sleep, but don't particularly care. They'd prefer him sleep deprived, he'd be less likely to question strange thoughts them, but he seems to hallucinate regardless of the circumstances. 49 is suitable for now.

* * *

When Cloud wakes up, they leave 49 to recover on his own. The thing is barely cognizant enough to count as sapient, but it can remember information. They leave it enough to get back to its domicile.

Tifa bursts into Cloud's room shortly before he can burst out.

"Cloud! Come with me, quickly!"

He steps outside to a bright view of pipes and Arbiters. Why are they here?

"We were getting ready to set out when those things showed up and came after us!" It's more than slightly cathartic to hear Tifa panicking, but they'll have to help destroy these if they can. If nothing else, Sephiroth's presence may drive them away from Cloud.

"The others?"

"Barret and Jessie are holding their ground, but for how long, I don't know."

The Arbiters swarm Tifa and Cloud, but are dispatched without too much issue. Sephiroth notes their relative weakness to magic. Materia is solidified Lifestream, maybe they can boost it somehow.

The pair hold their own decently and eventually reach Seventh Heaven. The Arbiters manage to attack Jessie unimpeded for a brief moment, injuring her leg, then they all disappear. Now, what is it about Jessie's injury that's crucial to fate?

Apparently, Jessie was meant to go along for another mission to explode a rector. Barret gets Cloud to take her place, for a pay raise.

The assigned team heads off to Undercity station, and Sephiroth settles in to watch.


	5. Chapter 5

The conspicuous duo of Avalanche members (and mercenary, but he's as good as one of them) are mostly ignored, even as the news comes over the speakers that a bomb threat has been issued. Why would Avalanche give Shinra any kind of forewarning? It seems foolish, personally.

Barret comes to the conclusion that they might stand out as a group. Barret. The one with a gun for a forearm, speaking to an entity carrying a sword heavier than any base human could manage and a woman who refuses to wear anything with sleeves about standing out. Sephiroth notes the irony.

They do split up, though shortly afterward Tifa requests that Cloud reassure the passengers near Barret. ...She really doesn't understand what Cloud is like, does she? Well, not everyone can shuffle through another's head whenever they need context.

"Do you still support those terrorists?" Some Shinra employee interrogates Barret, as Cloud enters. "Avalanche is a blight on Midgar!" The Shinra employee says, to the known terrorist sympathizer (Ha.) with a gun for an arm. At least he's some semblance of loyal, though to an objectively terrible thing.

Sephiroth wonders where their own loyalties lie. They settle for a mere objective of acquiring a body of their own, or at least one that can be connected with them. Anything after that is in defiance of Fate. They don't _want_ to create a body in the Northern Crater, _Hojo_ will be there. He'll die, but Sephiroth wants to do that themself. Apparently, so does everyone else, up to their mundane self. They're not sure how hating Hojo crossed universes at all.

They've missed Barret's reply, assuming he made one. No doubt is was charismatic as ever, passionate and pointless in equal measure. It's amazing that Shinra doesn't arrest these _obvious terrorists_ on sight. Not that they're complaining.

Cloud stops Barret from performing a potentially foolish action. For some reason, Barret sings an incredibly familiar tune. They have no idea why they know it, but get the feeling that he's acquiescing.

Then, an ID scan turns up, Shinra bursts in, and the trio is on a time limit. Some scrap of memory makes this coincidence beyond amusing, but they tune out the fight. Cloud can handle himself.

Keeping an eye on Cloud, they take 49's form for themself. Stretching, they note how familiar it feels. Understandable, considering that it was molded to be as their first body was, but disconcerting regardless. They don't bother to mimic 49's shamble when they leave whatever alley it crawled into. The plate will drop eventually, they know that as such an important event that it would take their direct intervention for Fate to cease.

Instead, they walk confidently, and practice using a body again. This one technically has a will of its own, but it's designed to bow to their own. Simple to control, not as simple to use. It's one thing to walk towards someone or drag oneself about, but this thing has held such terrible posture for years that extended work involving it will be painful. They don't doubt they've had worse.

The movements come to them in little time, and by then their path sprawls across a quarter of the sector. Checking Cloud's progress, they get to watch Barret jump out of a moving train. Well. That's something they'll unpack later, they're moving freely and easily for the first time in what feels like ages. Given what little their mundane self picked up about this timeline, they _have_ spent four years in the Lifestream.

They still watch Cloud and Tifa jump out anyways. More Cloud than Tifa.

Having a body is blissful. Being corporeal, being real enough to control where you look, it's an immeasurable blessing. Perhaps it could be better phrased as a gift? Sephiroth doesn't mind thinking of 49 as something they stole for themself, however. They would feel bad for it if it had anything more than the most basic of wills.

Cloud is hunting the Gashtrike around the tunnels. Sephiroth ponders over this. Does Shinra let them stay so close to the train on purpose? Surely not, that would cause mass panic. Though, this is below plate. He assumes they're used to this. Though, wouldn't most of Shinra live above plate? That was where Jessie's parents lived, after all.

They sigh and set 49 to find a new hole to cram itself into. Cloud will be reuniting with Barret soon enough. Indeed, the man's yells and yelps waver through the tunnel. Cloud finds him fighting some of Shinra's robots. Barret could get lucky and shoot a wire, they suppose.

The robots are cleared out soon enough. Barret sings that jingle of his, and they finally place it, the theme that plays when a battle was won in the game this universe was represented by! That's oddly self-aware. Perhaps this world will be represented by a similar game, or maybe it hasn't changed enough to warrant that? Who can say.

Tifa scans a map of the train systems and concludes that they're on a parallel line to their original, and should still reach the reactor in good time. Barret complicates this by requesting that they take a more winding path, to throw Shinra off. If Heidegger is still in charge, the infantry won't need throwing-off.

According to Barret, the path forward is marked in blue lights and graffiti. Sephiroth wishes they could make this up. The path winds through more Gashtrikes. Barret blames Shinra for their existence, which is technically true. They process the mako, they forget to clear out the pests before it gets bad. At this rate, a Second Class SOLDIER would be needed to take down some of these monsters.

And then, before they know it, Avalanche is fighting one of Scarlett's machines. It's slow, as all of her creations are. The only benefit it has towards a continuous existence is that it's metal, and thus substantially harder to wound.

It's almost insectoid, four large legs and a thick shell over its back. The legs are obvious weak spots to be exploited, and exploited they are. Barret shoots down its missiles, Cloud cuts inbetween seams, and Tifa's proclivity towards punching is only useful for her equipped Materia.

They knock it backward in a decidedly anticlimactic fashion. If this world were not so obviously fictionally inclined, Sephiroth would say it had been deemed scrap. Instead, it screams and returns to the fight.

Whirling about on new treads, the sentinel screeches in electric waves, forcing Avalanche off the train tracks. This time, their final blow succeeds. The machine crumples under itself, sparking lightly.

It explodes behind them as they press onwards into something resembling an elevator shaft.

"Just so you know, it's not gonna get any easier." Barret warns.

Bitterly, Cloud responds, "When did it ever?"


	6. Chapter 6

The elevator grinds to a halt and Barret rushes forward to peer over the platform. He makes a hum of... Satisfaction, Sephiroth believes. 

"Through here, then straight on to Reactor 5." He confirms calmly.

Tifa sighs. "You make it sound so simple."

"Only cuz it is." With his flesh-and-blood hand, Barret points at a relatively dull patch in the distance. "That there is the reactor support pillar."

Cloud asks for, and receives, clarification on the plan. No one in Avalanche is capable of briefing outside of potentially deadly situations, it seems. Even worse, they'll be meeting with Biggs.

...alright, that was a sight more dramatic than the revalation called for.

For some Minerva-forsaken reason, the power to even the _doors_ is off, but only in sporadic locations. There's no reason to why it's inactive, as far as they can tell. Regardless, the control room is reached and Cloud presses a button. In return, Avalanche is greeted with a tinny message informing them of insufficient power. In Midgar. On the _plate support structure._ They can't even be surprised anymore.

Miraculously, there's instructions for what to do during a lack of power. The answer is, apparently, to shut off the lamps providing light to the slums. Well, this will make searching for their clones harder. Just in case, they have 49 look around briefly, but nothing is nearby, so they return to Cloud.

They'll admit impatience, now. It's been some time since Cloud's mind was open enough to... twist. There's enough J-cells and S-cells that it should be an effortless process, but his will is simply too strong. Perhaps in moments of despair, he would be more amenable to their manipulations.

Maybe they should figure out their priorities before engaging in this sort of behavior. 

A body of their own is the main goal. Or perhaps _a_ main goal, as the Arbiters remain difficult to work around. Sephiroth frowns. Their presence may be ordained by the Arbiters, but their actions certainly aren't. 

For the first time, Sephiroth wonders over why they obtained another's memories. It certainly seems random enough, yet there are details of that other life and what it contains that concern them. This entire scenario was a _game_ in that life. Distant future, fiction? There's little rhyme nor reason to what that being was interested in.

Unfortunately, that entity they once were has almost _leaked_ into them, like chemicals into a pool. It was jarring at first, then dispersed. The two personalities seem blended now, though their entire being shudders at the invasion of privacy that would inherently involve.

Sephiroth performs an action firmly akin to that other self, and shoves their problems aside for later. They'll worry about this when they have a few days to themself.

They've let themself become distracted. In reality proper, moving onwards through line H requires the remainder of the sun lamps to be shut off. Sephiroth sighs and sends 49 back to its apartment. No reason to risk it.

Though the first lamp off reactivates security measures, Barret is more than capable of gunning them down. The second and third lights pose no additional issues, though Barret's increasingly obvious fear of heights is mildly amusing.

Cloud flips on the cargo lift.

"I wonder what the reactor's like." Atrocious grammar, Tifa.

Barret has no such objections, though he does hold complaints. "Dark. Dismal. A slaughterhouse where they butcher the Planet." Not entirely inaccurate. "Then there's the smell. The mako. Be ready for it." 

"Right..."

A moment of stillness. Then, Barret. "Hear that? It's the reactor, calling us, saying, 'Bring it on, Avalanche!'" Ahaha. Not likely.

Cloud steps through a door, pauses, and rapidly swings his sword to block the advance of another.

In a gasping voice, Biggs cries, "Mercy!" Mm. No. Sadly, Cloud grants that mercy, holstering his sword. "Wait, Cloud? Where's Jessie and Wedge?"

"Report." Barret cuts in.

Biggs obliges. "Topside's been nuts since some terrorists jumped off a train. Nice and quiet here, though. So quiet, I had no trouble securing your route into the reactor."

Barret grins. "You magnificent son of a bitch. Bring it in!" He cheers, attempting to hug Biggs, who simply ducks out of the way.

After Biggs hands over some supplies and platitudes are exchanged, Avalanche crawls into the vents. Biggs is left to clear civilians out of the blast radius, a surprising level of foresight. Granted, Tifa gave the order, so perhaps she holds more value than first assigned. Ah, well. They're moving on to Reactor 5.


	7. Chapter 7

Avalanche crawls out of the vents. As Cloud replaces the vent cover, Barret murmurs.

"That's it. That's the smell. This place reeks of mako." Typically, they'd make some jab about Barret knowing the smell of mako, but the air of this place is serious and cold. Even Cloud seems uneasy.

The group moves closer to the railings, looking over what lies below. Cloud hangs back, so Sephiroth can't see. Annoyed, they try to make Cloud move forward. He just shuffles his feet and leans slightly.

"Layout's the same as Reactor 1?"

"Yeah. We're near mako storage." Cloud replies quickly.

As they travel around the walkways, Barret grumbles, "I'm not seeing a way down."

"Here, maybe?" Tifa pipes up, overlooking- a pipe. Damnit, they didn't mean to make a pun. Tifa and Barret slide down the pipe, Cloud following shortly after.

Passing a robot of Shinra's -which Cloud seems oddly spirited to talk about- Cloud sets foot on a catwalk to the center of the reactor. Instantly, his head is in his hands, and he looks up. 

Before him is Tifa, collapsed on the floor, cradling a corpse in her arms. "Sephiroth, SOLDIERS, mako, Shinra... I'm sick of this! I'm sick of all of this!" Oh, this must be their fault. They aren't sure how to feel.

Tifa stands, sobbing, and retrieves an achingly familiar blade off the ground. Is that _Masamune?_ When did they ever leave it behind for _any_ reason? And then reality crashes back to an empty and clinically clean chamber. They should know what that was. They should _know._

Sephiroth wants to scream, yet doesn't at the same time. This was something they lost in the Lifestream, wasn't it? They curse Gaia, they curse Minerva and everything they've lost. What else has been stripped from them? What important memories do they lack now? Names, ideas, identities? Their rage could destroy stars. And one day, it will. They remember that much.

After a moment, more collected, they look back through their prison's eyes.

"Weirdly perfect timing." Cloud says, looking at a retracting ladder. They suppose it is.

"Wait a minute," Tifa starts, "is someone watching us?"

A door opens beside the group, Cloud snapping his gaze over. A swarm of Shinra drones pour out and coalesce over a pit. With a flash, a bright blue hologram displays the face of the head of Shinra's military, Director Heidegger.

"Greetings, my dear sewer rats!" How endearing. "As architect of our public relations campaign, I, Heidegger, bid you welcome."

Lowly, Barret replies. "The chief warmonger."

Heidegger extrapolates. Avalanche has been recorded entering a reactor, and are now being used as a scapegoat and target for Shinra's blame. With a brief mention of an "Airbuster", Heidegger leaves.

With a brief scuffle involving a handful of some very odd troopers, Avalanche regroups. Barret muses on giving Shinra a spectacle beyond their machinations, by bringing down the Airbuster. Cloud, with ever the penchant for casual violence, agrees instantly.

Proceeding into the room the drones came from, they find a small group of infantrymen. They're easily taken out.

Tifa finds a display, gathering that the Airbuster's parts are still being moved. Cloud glibly suggests tampering with the remaining parts, but that they'd need a console to do so. Naturally, Barret finds one immediately.

Although it needs a keycard to work, with a little searching, it turns on easily. 

"'M Units', huh. I'm guessing that's some sort of component?"

"Yep. An enhancement powered by liquefied materia."

"Sounds bad." Barret rumbles.

"Pretty sure I can divert this unit for disposal." Cloud follows through, losing the keycard in the process.

They repeat the process twice more.

Barret chuckles. "I'll tell you what; I ain't never looked forward to an execution more in my entire life."

"You don't say." Tifa smiles.

"We're about to make fools outta Shinra while the whole damn city's watchin'!" He laughs again. "Times like these you gotta savor!"

Amusement thick in her voice, Tifa jokes, "Oh no, if you're about to ask me to dance, then don't."

"Aw, don't be shy. How 'bout you, Cloud?"

"I don't dance." Is that so? Given how much of a narrative this world seems to run on, Sephiroth would bet that Cloud will be dancing by the end of the week. They look forward to it, if only for the irony of the situation.

Progressing beyond a set of locked doors, an open space awaits. Yet more drones surface, this time forming the face of President Shinra himself. He briefly attempts to unnerve Cloud, to little visible effect. Barret cuts in to rant, but Shinra cuts him off by declaring Avalanche allies of Wutai.

The hologram dissolves into Heidegger, whom reveals the Airbuster as combat-ready. It drops to the height of the platform and poses.

Tifa destroys the remaining drone. "I'm sick of this. I'm sick of all of this... "

Cloud winces, squinting in remembrance. "It's just like... When I failed you." He murmurs.

Snarling, Barret snaps at him. "Cloud! Get your head in the game!" Then, softer, "We're countin' on you, man!"

The fight itself appears mercifully simple, with Heidegger telegraphing every significant attack. Admittedly, the "Tankbuster" attack is mildly frightening for a moment, but the beam it produces is stationary. Even Barret dodges with ease.

As the fight progresses, the Airbuster separates its arms, fires lasers, and so forth. Sephiroth doesn't understand why it wouldn't use its most powerful attack first. If it catches the opponent off-guard, then such an attack is ideal. If Heidegger is merely wasting gil by toying with Avalanche... Well, they're dissapointed, but understand why.

Eventually, the Airbuster lives up to its name by lifting into the sky and raining lasers and fire from above. Its opening volley rips through a section of walkway. Barret lobs a fireball at it, and the Airbuster explodes, presumably spectacularly.

Sephiroth presumes, of course, because Cloud isn't able to see it. The reason for this being that he is hanging off a ledge that Barret and Tifa cannot reach, means that a fair amount of difficulty may arise attempting to return to base.

"We don't have much time!" Tifa yells.

Turning as much as he can, Cloud orders Barret, "Take Tifa, and get out of here!"

"I... I was wrong aboutcha-"

"This isn't the end of the line for you _or_ me!" Instantly counteracting this, drones arrive to fire explosives at both sides of the bridge. Cloud pulls out his grappling hook as he falls, but the line runs out and he falls faster than he can process.

Unable to accept Cloud's potential death, Sephiroth accesses their cells within Cloud, and uses them to reinforce Cloud's skin and organs. Bones will heal if needed, now, but organ damage and exsanguination are no longer issues. Prepared for the crash, Sephiroth withdraws from Cloud's awareness.


End file.
